The administration of therapeutic fluids to a patient is well known in the art. Many types of medical delivery devices exist to deliver various therapeutic fluids to a patient, such as, for example, parenteral fluids, drugs or other medicaments, electrolytes, blood and blood products, and the like. One particular type of medical delivery device is an infusion pump, which can deliver one or more of these therapeutic fluids to a patient via a variety of administration types, such as, for example, intravenous (IV), intra-arterial (IA), subcutaneous, epidural, irrigation of fluid spaces applications, and the like. Many medical delivery devices that operate under these types of administration typically utilize an administration line set and an associated container containing one or more therapeutic fluids. In the case of an infusion pump, the line set is typically loaded into a delivery mechanism of the pump, which facilitates delivery of the fluid to the patient.
Each type of administration and each type of therapeutic fluid typically involve numerous operational parameters, variables, constraints and other related information, such as medical and pharmaceutical related information, that must be monitored and followed to ensure proper, effective and safe delivery of therapeutic fluids to the patient and effective treatment of the patient. The nature and the amount of this information make its entry into a medical device a daunting task that can be susceptible to human error. Even though most known delivery devices are microprocessor-controlled, software-driven units having associated memory and are thus capable of customization and control by a user—typically via a download of specific data or software from another source—there remains a risk of improperly matching data and software to the appropriate therapy, drug or fluid, or administration set, especially from a logistical standpoint. Additionally, presently known delivery devices, such as infusion pumps, operate within a fixed operating configuration with a fixed set of functionality, regardless of the therapy, drug or fluid, or administration set. This can be another source of error. The potential for error in the delivery of fluids to a patient are numerous and the minimization of such potential is an important goal.
The present invention addresses these and other issues and generally provides new and improved systems, devices and methods associated with administration line sets and associated therapeutic fluids for use with medical delivery devices for delivery of the fluids to a patient.